ANDERSON, S.C. (WSPA) — According to Anderson Co. Forensic Scientists, there are two divisions of forensics.
One division investigates and gathers information from the scene of a crime and the other analyzes drugs in a laboratory.
Lieutenant Forensics Investigator, Chris Scott, said forensic investigators mostly investigate property crimes such as burglaries, auto break-ins and stolen cars.
Scott said forensic scientists are trained to tell if someone has tampered with evidence.
“If they are making an attempt to cover their tracks, wear gloves or something like that and tamper with fingerprint evidence, there’s always DNA. There are also always footwear impressions and other things to look for, not necessarily just a fingerprint,” said Scott.
Regional Laboratory Director, Karen Bowen, said the other division of forensic science analyzes drugs in a laboratory.
If drugs are found in the community, they are confiscated by law enforcement and brought into the lab to be weighed and tested to find out the physical properties of a substance by using forensic chemistry.
“We have very strict protocols on the acceptance of evidence here in the laboratory. There are a chain of custody procedures that must be followed before evidence is received in the laboratory. We ensure to the best of our ability that no tampering has occurred from the time the evidence was seized until it is even received here in the lab,” said Bowen.
Bowen said after the analysis is finished, the drug reports are given to law enforcement agencies who store the reports until they are needed in court.
According to Anderson Co. Forensic Scientists, the amount of time for results to come back varies on the type of case being solved.
